The Minnesota police officer who shot and killed Philando Castile during a traffic stop saw Castile's gun before shooting him, according to the cop's lawyers — a claim that contradicts what prosecutors have said.

St. Anthony Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez "indeed saw Castile's gun" and was able to correctly describe what it "looked like, the caliber, the color" the day after the shooting, according to court documents obtained by the Pioneer Press.

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"The gun was accessible, and Mr. Castile reached for it," the memo says.

This appears to be the first formal claim that Yanez saw Castile's gun before fatally shooting him on July 6. Previous statements from state officials indicated Yanez did not see the weapon and opened fire because he knew Castile was carrying a gun, and was alarmed by his behavior during the traffic stop.

"The State's claims that Yanez 'never saw a gun' … is not supported by the video and resulting facts," the defense memo says, according to the Star Tribune.

"The phrase the State quotes from Officer Yanez's subsequent conversation at the scene — 'I don't know where the gun was' — doesn't prove the gun didn't exist."

St. Anthony Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez. (AP)

Yanez, 28, shot and killed Castile, 32, after pulling him over July 6. Castile's girlfriend captured his dying moments on Facebook Live, while her 4-year-old daughter sat in the backseat.

Castile had told Yanez he had a pistol in his pocket, which he had a license to carry. Yanez fired after Castile appeared to reach for his pocket; Castile's girlfriend said on Facebook Live that Castile was getting his wallet.

Yanez has been charged with second-degree manslaughter and two felony counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm. Prosecutors have argued that Yanez showed "a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable officer would have observed."

Yanez's lawyers have asked for the charges to be dismissed, and have argued in court filings that Castile was "the substantial cause of his own demise" because autopsy results show he was high on marijuana during the deadly encounter.